Set in a world where crime flourished, organized crime ran the streets, and jazz dominated popular culture, Chicago the Musical tackles the concepts of the 1920’s justice system through the theatrical telling of actual stories of criminals. It acts as a satire that focuses on the corruption of society and the justice system, crafting the art of sophisticated and witty cynicism through songs of betrayal, manipulation, and selfishness. The lyrics and performance of this live music intentionally portray the justice system’s lack of merit and tradeoff between justice and entertainment.
With a capacity of over two thousand, the venue of the San Jose Performing Arts Center is a traditional proscenium theatre with light fixtures shining along the walls and a full theatre buzzing with a mainly older generation but some college to middle-aged individuals in casual to semi formal clothing. Unlike many Broadway shows, the set design is as stripped down as the cast’s provocative costumes. Instead of a large set, the full-sized Chicago orchestra takes up most of the stage and is raised on tiered seating box behind the actors. The space that remains isn’t put to waste for throughout the show the cast performs riveting and challenging choreography. The performers even have to climb up ladders on the side of the stage, exit and enter through the orchestra, and unconventionally interact directly with the audience as well as the conductor. Despite the absence of a complex set, Chicago the Musical still captivates the audience which is mainly a testament to the powerful musical performance of Chicago the Musical.
Along with the famous musical numbers of “All That Jazz” and “Cell Block Tango”, the arguable showstopper of the musical was the character Billy Flynn and the ensemble’s performance of “Razzle Dazzle”—an instruction of how to manipulate the justice system to get away with murder. This performance uses common jazz musical characteristics. For instance, there is a heavy use of brass, some chordal accompaniment on the piano, and repeated accents of solo trumpet throughout the piece. With swung rhythms and periodic instrumental breaks with snapping, the music is driven by a duple meter, sung in a primarily syllabic text setting, and launched with a lento tempo. As the song progresses, the tempo quickens to allegro and so does the complexity of the dancing. Groups of dancers are scattered across the stage in their own choreographed routines and only synchronize during the abrupt quiet sections of the music.
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This silence is quickly broken by a sudden increase in volume that catches the audience’s attention and places emphasis on certain lyrics. This occurs multiple times throughout the performance with one of them being when the orchestra and performers quickly go from a mezzo-forte to a piano dynamic level during the lyric “back since the days of old Methuselah” then to a forte level when singing “everyone loves the big bamboo-zler.” Another skillful use of musical elements is when the ensemble repeats the word “roar” in a mezzo piano volume after Billy Flynn sings “how can they hear the truth above the roar” in a forte volume. To top off the performance, Billy Flynn closes the song with a long hold of the last note as confetti is catapulted from the bottom of the stage highlighting the extravagant theatrics of the performance. The performance of “Razzle Dazzle” is only one testament of the Chicago the Musical creators’ purposeful and talented use of musical elements.
Besides demonstrating a mastery of dynamic jazz music, the intentional control of volume and choreography draws attention to criticism of the justice system. The emphasis on the lyrics “everyone loves the big bamboozler” scolds the public for finding decadence entertaining despite perpetual deception. The repeat of “roar” after the lyric “how can they hear the truth above the roar” also criticizes society for intentionally disregarding honesty and justice for amusement. In addition, the theatrical finale of the piece is so extravagant that it can be interpreted as ridiculous to highlight the comicality of the justice system and its lack of merit. All of these musical elements prove that “Razzle Dazzle” and the musical itself points out that we as a society crave violence in a way that’s as frightening as the crime itself and the comedic nature of the performance mocks society for doing so.
In the absence of an intricate set, Chicago the Musical manages to fill the audience with laughter, amazement, and a critical perspective through the power of music. With an expert use of dynamic volume and tempo, John Kander emphasizes the lyrics of Fred Ebb to effectively cast aspersions on the society that is supposed to protect the innocent and deter crime but chooses to forgive the worst immorality of society and disregard the ideals of honesty and justice.
